Vitor Belfort, Jose Aldo Favored At UFC 142 In Rio de Janeiro

January 14, 2011 – By Scott

MMA action is set for Saturday night as UFC 142 is on tap taking place in Rio de Janeiro for the first time back in Brazil in five months where some of the fighters will be fighting in their homeland. Some great bouts are on the fight card leading up to the main event featuring Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes.

Aldo will be fighting in front of his home crowd for the first time as champion. But, he faces a strong test in his undefeated opponent Chad Mendes. These two offer different styles when they get in the ring. Mendes is the better wrestler of the two and could have the advantage on the ground. Aldo however, is probably the better striker of the two.

Fans can probably expect Aldo to use a wide variety of leg kicks and strikes to keep the fight from going to the floor. The champion probably doesn’t want this to happen as there is a lot riding on this fight for both. Aldo wants to retain his belt and Mendes wants to take it from him in front of his home crowd.

“I have tunnel vision,” the challenger said. “I have that goal of winning that belt. It’s all I’m thinking about. I think I’m going to get booed, as it’s Jose’s back yard and he’s the champion. But I can’t speak Portuguese so I can’t understand what they say anyway. I’m in the zone, and there’s not going to be any problem.”

Another main fight set for Saturday night has Vitor Belfort taking on Anthony Johnson. This fight takes place in the middleweight category where Belfort moved down to this weight class just five fights ago and Johnson has moved up.

The power of Belfort could be the key in this fight and whether or not Johnson can withstand his arsenal and provide one of his own. In four of Belfort’s five fights at middleweight, he has knocked out his opponent so his strength is well documented.
UFC 142 Betting Odds have been posted for sports bettors to wager on. In regards to these two fights, Belfort will be favored over Johnson with his moneyline set at -130. Johnson’s line is set at EVEN.

Aldo gets the nod according to MMA Sportsbooks as they have him favored over Mendes with a moneyline set at -325. Mendes has his line set at +250.

Other great fights are also on the fight card and are available to wager on at Bovada.